10 things I want to see on the FINAL day of SXSWi
Posted by drocolate on March 5th, 2010
Well we have come to the end. Day five is upon us.
Here’s the deal with what I’m doing: Every day this week I’ve been listing ten things that I think sound like can’t-miss events from a specific day at SXSWi. Unfortunately a lot of my selected events actually overlap in the schedule so I won’t be able to attend them all (unless my clone arrives before then), but I wanted to give them some love regardless. And that’s basically that. Yeah.
If you’d like to go back in time and check out the other days, here they are:
And now, day five.
Drocolate’s 10 things for Tuesday, March 16th
Oh, and just like on the other days — despite being numbered, these are presented in no order of importance. I’m judging most of them based solely on a blurb on the SXSW website’s schedule maker, so it really wouldn’t be cool for me to start ranking them. Yet.
Ok, let’s do this.
1. Is Too Much Math Killing Marketing?
9:30am/Hilton C/Rand Schulman, Mike Teasdale, Joanna Burton
Breakthrough marketing used to come from creative genius, from big ideas, from empathy with customers. But now all the attention goes to rigorous testing and algorithmic approaches to customer insight. So is the science driving out creativity -- or are we focused on the wrong kind of maths?
Hell yes it is! And so is too much meth! And too many moths! Yeah!
This session sounds great because it really does seem like a lot of great ideas get shot down due to an overabundance of research and testing. As a creative, it gets constricting to hear things like “If 61% of the people poled didn’t like the color blue we can’t put any blue on anything.” It’s understandable to a point but eventually the overall idea gets watered down for the sake of just not wanting to mess up.
It’s a great topic idea and a great way to start the last day of the fest.
2. What We Learned Watching Kids with Homemade Flamethrowers
12:30pm/Hilton H/Tim Hwang, Sawyer Carter Jacobs
There lies an often overlooked universe of microcommunities flourishing in the nooks and crannies of the web. We have explored one of these: a vast, underground world of homemade flamethower videos. 1,500 clips later, we’ve returned with unexpected conclusions about the nature of community and culture online. Fantastically dangerous awesomeness guaranteed!
Wow. 1,500 clips? Let’s see if I can find a quick example of one…
Ah yes, here we are:
I say again, wow.
3. Balance is Bullshit
12:30pm/Austin Convention Center 8A/Stephanie Klein, Jennifer Lancaster
Blogging is a constant balancing act of creating new content, networking, marketing, monetizing and keeping up on the latest social media trends. It also leaves little room to have an offline social life. Popular bloggers will share their secrets on why balance is bullshit and how they really get it all done.
The topic of this session is all about how us bloggers manage to balance our blogging duties with a social life. For me, my social life sometimes gets shafted in favor of this blog you’re currently reading. For example, this week, while I’ve been writing this preview, I’ve had very little time to go out and hit up the discos.
Hopefully I’ll get some pointers at this session on how to find some sort of middle ground because the discos need me. They really do.
4. Remixing For The Masses
5:00pm/Austin Convention Center 18ABCD/Paul Lamere
In this panel we show how automatic music analysis and remix technology is making it easier for anyone to create their own music remixes, from simple alterations like adding more cowbell to your favorite song to complex manipulations that would be worthy of the next ‘Grey Album’.
Honestly my interest in this one is totally selfish.
You see I’ve got TONS of incredible ideas for mashup albums in my head, so I’m really hoping this panel empowers me to go out and start producing them. You want to hear a few of my ideas? Of course you do!
Here are a few of my finest (PLEASE don’t steal them):
- Celine Dio (Celine Dion + Dio: First single — “My Holy Diver Will Go On”)
- MetalliCarly Simon (Metallica + Carly Simon: First single — “You’re So Vainforgiven”)
- Huey Lee Lewis (Huey Lewis + Jerry Lee Lewis: First single — “Great Balls Of The Power Of Love”)
I can’t wait to make these a reality, and hopefully this session will get me on the right track.
5. How to defuse a bomb and other life lessons from the cast of MACGRUBER
Akiva Schaffer moderates a lively discussion with the director, writer and cast of Rogue’s action comedy MACGRUBER.
I don’t actually have a film badge, but, like Kick-Ass on day one, I had to list this. Just look at the roster of speakers up there. This thing is guaranteed hilarity.
Plus, Kristen Wiig is a fox.
6. Epic Lulz: Creating Funny Content on the Web
Comedy rules the Web. There’s no better way of creating viral buzz and generating traffic than through funny, well-written content. We’ll explain how to make your own content funnier, as well as how to “optimize” funny content for the Web so it gets noticed, linked, and passed along.
Speaking of guaranteed hilarity, there’s this excellent-sounding session about creating funny content for the web. Since ITE is all about the comedy and the jokes and the laughing (we hope) I’m going to really try to go to this one.
Hopefully after I attend you guys will be ROFLing and LOLing more in the future. Hopefully.
7. Airing Your Dirty Laundry Online -- Therapy or Revenge?
3:30pm/Courtyard Rio Grande A/Alix McAlpine
With sites popping up left and right which deride the people we’ve dated and hooked up with, are we crossing the line between talking things out to get it off our chest and putting things up for the general public to see in order to humiliate them?
This is a really interesting topic. How far is too far when it comes to shitting all over an ex. Where’s the line? Hopefully there will be people there that have drastically differing opinions so you have the room split into two sides — the people who think public embarrassment is awesome and warranted and the people who think it’s low class.
And then, at the end, the two sides will make out, then break up, then tweet about the whole thing.
It’s going to be sexy.
In all seriousness though, it sounds like a really interesting topic. Go and check it out.
8. Slashing Through Red-Tape to Revolutionize Corporate Communication
After four years of blood, sweat and tears, sleepless nights, blunders and triumphs, Southwest Airline’s social media efforts have emerged as a light-house for the Company’s communication. Find out how they knocked traditional PR and Marketing strategy on its ass to revolutionize the company’s voice.
A social media success story? That sounds lovely. Sign me up.
I’d be willing to bet Kevin Smith WILL NOT be at this panel though. Just guessing.
9. The State of Music Blogs In 2010
Just how important are music blogs to the industry today, is that prominence growing or fading, and how will new technologies and strategies impact the marketing mix in the coming year? Join prominent music bloggers, record label and PR firm executives to discuss the state of the industry and what’s around the corner.
I love music blogs so I’m looking forward to this one. Unlike sarcastic humor websites based on the economy, music blogs have become big business, and this panel is going to talk about where that big business is headed.
It should be great stuff.
10. Brilliant Second Acts You Must Steal Tricks From
5:00pm/Courtyard Rio Grande B/Jaime Woo, Mark Rabo
Few expect a lifelong job anymore and, in the creative industry, reinvention can be key to career longevity. This presentation curates jaw-dropping second acts of trailblazers who have matched or exceeded the success of their career first acts and presents the common predictors to steal for your own use.
The idea that “it’s not how you start but how you finish” will be on full display here. I’m looking forward to hearing about some other people’s awesome second acts so that I can steal one of them and make it my own in a few years.
YES!
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THAT’S IT! Thanks to everyone who has checked out this preview. I hope you gathered some information from it that you put to good use next week at SXSWi. I’ll see you all there!
Oh, and before I sign off I want to thank:
and
- SugarTits over at Red Dirt Kings for letting me borrow her laptop to take down to SXSW. You’re a life saver, ST!
LET’S MAKE THIS THE GREATEST AND BESTESTEST SXSW EVER! YES!
And just in case you’re looking for the previous days of this preview, here you go:
YEAH!
In defense of math, I’d watch 61% of people get poled instead of polled.
Normally I would scurry off and fix that typo… but I think it’s got some extra awesomeness this way.
Agreed.
I’m sorry, I just hallucinated. Is Ryan Phillippe really going to be at SXSWi?! Did I just quote one of his his ex-wife’s lines from Legally Blonde?!